The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the United Nations to support efforts of the Nigerian government in establishing counter terrorism mechanisms to curb the spread of insurgency particularly in the North East.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Tony Ojukwu Esq made this call in Abuja when he received a UN delegation on a working visit to the Commission.
According to the Executive Secretary, establishing counter terrorism mechanisms will not only help Nigeria track the network of the insurgents but will also assist the Military and other security agencies with adequate information and strategies required to overcome insurgency in the country.
The Chief Executive Officer of NHRC therefore called on the United Nations to increase its training programmes on human rights for staff of the Commission and those of law enforcement agencies to enable them garner relevant skills needed to do their work professionally.
The NHRC boss canvassed the need to establish a central database for all citizens so as to have a reliable record of missing persons and other categories of victims of insurgency. He also stated the need to control migration across the nation's boarders saying that some of the migrants may constitute a menace to the protection of human rights in the country.
Earlier, the United Nations delegation led by the UN Under Secretary-General (USG), Office of Counter Terrorism (UN-OCT), Mr. Vladimir Voronkov stated that the purpose of the visit is to hold consultations with high-level government officials to assess the implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and facilitate delivery of counter-terrorism-related technical assistance to the country.
The UN envoy assured the Commission that the UN system would assist it with new technologies and skills required to collate data needed in programmes designed to provide humanitarian support to victims of insurgency.
Mr. Lambert Oparah
Director Corporate Affairs and External Linkages, NHRC.
